Fast Approaching 4…Still Not a Pinterest Mom

A & L, my girl/boy twins are fast approaching age 4. I’m super excited about this because as time progresses, communication (both ways) is becoming easier.  They sort of understand me, and I sort of understand them. Somehow though when it comes to daddy they haven’t made the leap into communicating effectively. Mom or Dad as disciplinarian and alpha role, a topic for another time.

Their birthday is in 22 days and although I began making a list of party ideas in the summer, I have yet to decide what to do. Until today. I’m a teacher, so we have no business spending more than a few hundred on a party. I thought about the zoo as an option. They have a decent price (about $240 for members for 10 people and everything is included, even cupcakes). But once you count the 4 of us, my parents, his family, now we are at 8 people. So basically they could invite one friend and one parent with the friend. Sure, I could pay $25 more per person, but yikes.  I just can’t.  At least not while I spend $450 a week on daycare. Another topic for another time. 

Basically, most places include adults in the pricing factor. There is one local business, an indoor place space, that for the same price doesn’t include adults into the numbers, but it doesn’t include the decorations and cupcakes like the zoo did.  I thought about this option. Both kids liked it. But, then I thought about how people are so busy. What if I pay close to $300 for a play space for two hours and no one can go? Mostly this stems from me being too frugal. I didn’t grow up with money to waste, so I try to be careful and weigh if something is a need or a want.

Plus, I feel like kids’ parties are so overcome in the 2000s.  Backyard parties were where it was at when I was little. Granted, I did have a party at Chuck E Cheese once, and at Roller Palace too. My favorites were always the ones at home.  Our last three parties for A&L have been at home. The first one was supposed to be at a park, but the community double booked the facility and bumped us. So began our home party streak.

I also feel like newly turned 4 year olds are sort of still 3 year olds, and so they can’t do as much as older kids. Next year when they turn 5 I would really like to have their party somewhere. Daycare cost will be down because they will be in Pre-K, so it’ll be easier to swing an extra cost.

Our theme this year will be super heroes. This lets him have his Spider-Man theme and she can have her Super Girl theme. Last year we had a pirate theme. Year two was Sesame Street, and year one was rainbow themed. As of today, we are having a pool party at my parent’s house. We will find or create some outdoor games and activities. I love coming up with cute ideas, but my follow through isn’t the best. What are your go to easy ideas for Super Hero theme? I’ll check out Pinterest, but this mommy is like a level 4 creativity on a 1 to 10 scale.

Where did you or will you have your toddler’s birthday party this year? What are your thoughts on going all out on toddler birthdays? Where are my at home birthday mamas at?

Hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Peace & Love,

KB

It’s not me, it’s them. Right?

Being a parent is probably the most challenging job out there.  Next in line would be daycare worker. You see where I’m going with this.  Toddlers are tyrants.

I try to stay calm, cool, and collected.  I read positive books to build my spirit up and get my soul feeling right again.  Yet daily I’m run down emotionally by tiny tyrants.  Sometimes I just accept that I can’t be that great at this parenting thing.  I have to say “no” “stop” “go potty” “I said no” “5-4-3-2-1” too many times to count.

I’m a teacher so I count “5-4-3-2-1” at least 30+ times a day.  I teach 7th grade. Yes, the countdown is still effective on preteens and teens.  Sometimes I think maybe I’m overly exhausted and my patience is so thin because I’m with kids all day long.  Where are the other teacher moms out there…I’d love to hear your thoughts.

For three years I’ve been wanting to fine tune my work/home life balance.   Obviously, time management isn’t my thing.  I try to give myself a break since I have two 3 year olds after all.  I’ve started saying no to extra stuff at work.  This helped a little, but I guess I did way more than I thought because I’m still over committed even with ditching a few responsibilities.

When I get home from work it’s 2-3 hours of what I’ll call bedtime routine.  Dinner, then tubs, maybe some playtime before tubs, but lately it’s been after tubs, and then boom it’s already past bedtime and I’m dealing with what feels like a drunk college roommate.  Every time my toddlers are delirious from being tired I think of those memes that compare toddlers to drunk people.  So very accurate.  Sometimes it’s like I’m in the story “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” though.  They get 5 last sips of water, and sometimes they have to get up to potty because well, they had too much water before bed.

How do you get toddlers to listen to you?  I do think when you have a solid, consistent routine it helps.  Being a teacher I have summers off, and I’m with my twins all day ever day.  They drive me far less crazy in the summer.  I think it’s because I can better keep control over our dinner schedule and allow plenty of time for everything else I want to fit in during the day.  Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to work, but then we have a weekend day where they won’t listen or cooperate and I’m so pumped up for Monday. Ha.  The grass is always greener right?  Well, where you water it it will be. 😉

Bribery works well with tiny tyrants.  I bribe mine to do things like be nice to each other, cooperate, go potty, behave while out, etc.  Their favorite bribes are fruit snacks, cake pops, and stickers.  We just bought some baking sheets to make our own version of a cake pop so we can save some money and make it healthier.  I don’t feel so bad bribing my twins, because when it comes to comparing them to other children I see out, mine are actually pretty well behaved.  They save their most trying behaviors for when we are home.

While I’m finishing up this post, Darling L while waiting for his snack tosses his napkin on the floor, followed by the drink coaster nearby.  I ask him to stop and he keeps looking for something else he can toss.  He’s tired.  They don’t nap for us at home anymore unless it’s in the car.  I get it, they’re 3 now.  I wouldn’t want to nap either.  I do want to nap, but you know how that goes when you are a parent.  It’s a dream for your retirement days now.  I have to keep telling myself, it isn’t me.  It’s them.  It’s their tyrant three year old ego.  The countdown to four is on.  Eight more months.

Share you twin or toddler stories about behavior management with me.  Give me your best advice for sure!  Anyone who is amazing at time management, I’m always looking for a new personal development read.

TAt least they are super cute tyrants.       And they can be really sweet. 

Happy Sunday!

KB

Not Again: Dealing with Endometriosis

This post discusses female issues, specifically endometriosis.

It’s amazing what we can get used to given enough time. My body has been giving me problems since the beginning of my “womanhood”. I learned to expect painful periods of time where I’d become reserved, withdrawn, and annoyed by everything. I learned to always have pain medication on hand, and that I should just carry it on me, just in case.

I have severe endometriosis. I’ve always had the symptoms, from the beginning, but so many doctors are not in the know when it comes to this disease. Once I was convinced I had this condition, it took knowing I had the SAME cyst for 2 years, and four doctors later to diagnose me. What is irritating is that my current doctor knew immediately after consulting with me that I likely had it, yet the other doctors told me over and over that cysts were a normal part of a woman’s cycle and that it just couldn’t be the same cyst. If you’ve read my story on here, you know I have stage IV endo, and that one ovary was basically attached to my leg somehow. GROSS. Our only choice to conceive was through IVF. Our twins are now three! Time sure does fly as the saying so annoying goes. 😉

Thankfully more doctors are beginning to know about this condition, but still too many do not. I have a friend who had a doctor tell her endometriosis is a lifestyle issue. Yeah, okay buddy. It’s frustrating too that those of us with it are told to manage it with pain medication, and when it gets bad enough to have a laparoscopy done (again) to remove some of the scar tissue causing the pain. At least in the western hemisphere that’s protocol.

I’ve read an amazing book Endometriosis: A Key to Healing Through Nutrition which led me to be to gluten free for awhile, which greatly reduced my symptoms. When I do reduce my gluten intake I see my symptoms reduced. I’m very interested in hearing what others with the disease do for pain management, mostly approaches other than surgery or pain medication.

I’m beginning to see my symptoms increase lately.   I find that when I stay active and maintain good nutrition I have less pain, or maybe it’s just more manageable. I’m a teacher though and the school year tends to be filled with non-stop business leading to a reduction in my fitness and me slacking on my nutrition piece. What sparked this post is the lower back pain I’m getting that travels through my leg. It’s on my evil ovary side, so I pray it isn’t my ovary attached again. That’s what caused the same discomfort in 2012, my last laparoscopy.

Peace & Love,

KB

I do not…okay?

I recently confirmed that I am better at managing middle schoolers than toddlers. Actually, 46 8th graders were easier to manage than 2 two year olds.  Last week I went on the 8th grade field trip from northern FL to DC for five nights, with two of those nights on the bus. Of course, I had three other staff members with me and four parents, but still.   

Toddlers are tyrannical, demanding everything to be their way or they will have a meltdown.  They also very closely resemble the mouse in “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”.   

As I was drafting this post last night, L asked for his dinosaur book which was already in his bed with him. Why does he need a book in bed? I stopped asking these things. There are no reasonable answers to a toddler request. My advice? Let them have the book. Oh no, a love of reading will develop? Darn. Said no parent ever. After convincing him the book was already with him, I suggested another book to distract him. This worked until he decided he needed to use the potty.  No, they are not potty trained. But when they ask, I oblige. There weren’t any fresh diapers in the bathroom, so I brought him to the changer the get a new one.  He tells me no. So I argue with a two year old about how he must wear a diaper because it’s not optional. I put the diaper I pulled out away (yes, a clean one that he refused) to only pull out another one identical to it.  Suddenly he’s satisfied and allows me to put this “different” diaper on him. Seriously? It’s the same exact diaper. They all look the same with the purple monkey!  (Side note: Luvs is my favorite diaper since month 3. Save your money. We’ve had minimal diaper leaks in these.) 

Arguing with toddlers is a daily struggle. No, wait, it’s an hourly struggle. I’ve begun to deal with it a little better, but I’m nowhere near a toddler expert. I tried preparing for this by watching those nanny shows before their arrival. Looks like it’s time for some reruns. This frustrates me because on the DC trip my knickname was Dean _____ because the students listen to me.  (Side note: no child listens 100%. I had to repeat myself with the 8th graders numerous times. It’s just easier because I know they comprehend what I’m saying.)  Why won’t my own children listen to me?  Toddler brain. Training a human is likely the most difficult thing.  

A’s new thing is saying “I do not!” To which we reply “you do not what?”.  Otherwise, she’s bossing us around and then finishing off the demand with “okkkkkkay?!”  It’s comical, and a welcome break from L’s screaming tantrums. I can handle sass much more than the unknown reason crying. L is emotional. He gets frustrated when he cannot verbalize what he’s thinking. 

I think about when they were infants and I thought life was rough, and I crack myself up. This stage feels like the most difficult so far. 

Here are the stages we have experienced:

Day 1 – Month 1: sleepy land. This was difficult because they had to or just did, wake up every 3 hours to eat or have a diaper change. Mostly it was to eat. We eventually began to not worry about a tiny pee in the middle of the night to maximize on sleep time.  

Months 2-3: More sleep, more clingy. This stage was nice because the routine was developed. Of course, while in this stage we thought it was so challenging. This was when L became extremely colicky though. I wish I knew about wraps and different baby carriers at this stage. 

   

Months 4-6: Easily entertained. This stage was nice because they were smiling and laughing more. They began moving, but not enough to go anywhere. You could go to the bathroom and get a shower fairly easily.  

Months 7-9: Mobile. These months entailed walkers and jumpers.  We had a giant baby gate pen where they could move freely, but be safe from most things. The danger here was having two. They could easily hurt each other unintentionally. Li was crawling and sitting up, but A was a little behind him on that.    

 

Months 10-12: crawling and pulling up. Here comes trouble! At this stage they became more curious and aware of their surroundings. They wanted to touch everything. Note: this still hasn’t changed. Nothing is safe from toddler hands!  L began walking holding onto things by this point, and A was not too far behind.    

 

Months 13-15: walking? By 14-15 months L was walking. This was a scary time because he was so unstable. A saw him walking and wanted to join in, but was not there yet so she would get frustrated. I remember being constantly on guard about them toppling over easily.    

 

Months 16-18: walking. By this point, both A&L were walking. They didn’t know how to open doors yet, so we could have some off limits rooms. I’m pretty sure this was around the time L began escaping from his crib. After two nights in a row, we converted the crib to a toddler bed. This helped with his sleep actually, which was nice. We tried the baby gate at the door thing, but he didn’t like that. I was not comfortable closing the door with him in there, so we found this neat door hook thing. It’s dual purpose, you can make it a pinch guard or a safety latch.   

Months 19-21: fun to be around. Maybe it is because these months occurred during the summer break, but they seemed like better listeners at this stage. I was able to get them to cooperate easily, and they were okay with me choosing things for them.    

   

Months 22-24: transition time. This stage is similar to months 19-21, but with increased desire to choose things for themselves.  They became slowly more frustrating at this point. I guess it’s because they began to develop interests and likes/dislikes.           

Months 25-27: sibling arguments. By this point they began constantly arguing with each other. They were manageable if I took them both out at the same time, but became increasingly more difficult as we approached the true terrible two stage.   

         
Months 28-30: tantrums and arguments for all. Current stage. Constant tantrums. L lays on the ground and “plays dead/passed out”. I have no idea where he got this from either.  His tantrums are intense and sudden. He will be completely fine and then suddenly he refuses to stand up.  A is a bossy pants and does not like to share. It’s the most challenging stage so far.    

    
    
    
    
    
 I have moments where I have to zone out/ignore or really concentrate to not take their behavior personally. But then they will be the sweetest things ever.  Looking through my photos to find ones for this post reminded me of the fun times. I try to keep things in perspective and tell myself “this is temporary”. Soon they will out grow this stage and we will move on to the next. Each stage will bring its own positives and negatives. I try to cherish those positives. 

  
Peace&Love, 

K

Working on My Fitness…It’s a Lifestyle

This post began in draft form in January 2014.  It had been titled “(Not) Working on My Fitness”. Thankfully I have been able to change that.

I have these grand ideas, but then life gets in the way.  I wanted to begin working out as soon as I was cleared by the doctor after having A&L, but that didn’t happen. Like I said, life got in the way.

I think of this picture, where the extremely fit woman says “what’s your excuse?”.  Scroll down to the picture, then read her post. I have twins was my excuse, and still is really. When I first saw this picture on Facebook I was annoyed.  It reminded me that I no longer lived in FL where I could be outside 355 out of 365 days. We were living in MA and it was already cold and miserable to me. A&L were only a few weeks old, so unless someone was gifting me a nanny or babysitter, I wasn’t able to find time to exercise, at least not at the level to obtain her body. Was this just an excuse? Maybe. My mom and dad were living within 20 minutes of our place. Honestly though, my body was still feeling funky after having major surgery. I tried to get out and walk when I could. But like I said, the weather in New England stinks. Where we were living, even the sidewalks had potholes. So it often wasn’t worth even going for a walk around the block. We lived right near this great beach walkway too. When it would snow they didn’t even shovel it all, so a stroller would be annoying to manage on it. Is weather a good excuse? Bringing A&L out in the windy autumn air didn’t seem like mother of the year material. Looking back makes me feel lazy because I question my excuses. I shouldn’t feel that way though. I did get out and walk when I could, even with the terrible weather and potholes. I would go to the mall or grocery and cruise around with my Snap-N-Go.  Looking back, I would recommend to those in not so easy fitness weather areas to get a jogging stroller instead. At least this would handle the terrain better.

A windy walk in MA, maybe around Nov. 2013.

We didn’t have extra money or space to fit any exercise equipment. This was a major excuse for me. (We do have weights and a bench, but I didn’t get into it. Of course, having newborn twins doesn’t really make exercise seem possible. I had seriously maybe an hour to myself and I just wanted to relax.). A few people whose blogs I follow had treadmills and they were able to walk or begin running pretty soon after passing the 6 week postpartum mark. This made me feel even more depressed and sorry for myself. I started looking into DVDs I could do at home when the babies were sleeping, but I never followed through.

I didn’t physically begin feeling good until about 2 months postpartum. This would have been early December. It was frigid by then. Before winter officially began we had already had two snow falls. Winter defeated me. I began to strongly dislike our living situation, having been living in FL for the 8 years previous. I did attempt to go out running by myself a few times, once when it was definitely in the 30s. I was miserable.

We are back in FL now. When we left MA in March 2014, we left ahead of a snow storm. I wore my boots all the way until we hit North Carolina!

When we got here I walked every day, even if it was just around the block. The babies turned 6 months that month. My chances of looking like Maria by the time A&L were 8 months were not looking good, but they weren’t impossible. I got myself a jogging stroller and I began testing out my running ability. By summer 2014 I could run about a mile straight.  I walked a few 3-4 mile routes and even went 7.5 miles with a friend of mine. It felt great to get out! I told myself I wouldn’t let the heat be an excuse. But then came summer, and it was so HOT out! I needed to get up earlier so I could get out before 7am to walk/run. Even at that time it’s a bucket of humidity out there. But, it had to be done. I couldn’t expect to lose anymore weight or loose skin if I didn’t attempt any fitness.

By the time A&L were 8.5 months, I was still not any closer to looking like Maria. I was not okay with that, yet I still made excuses. It’s too hot. I’m too tired. My knee hurts. That picture that once made me feel annoyed now motivated me. It haunted me when I was lazy. What was my excuse? Please remember that for a few months postpartum I didn’t feel well enough to go out and run again or lift heavy weights. But at this point it was over 8 months postpartum, and I live in the sunshine. It was time to get tougher on myself.

I had fitness goals. I drafted them in this post. Here they were in summer 2014:
*I will lose five pounds. This will put me back at my pre-pregnancy weight.
*I will tighten my belly skin, and muscles of course. I refuse to let people tell me you can’t lose the loose skin. I will.
*I will fit into my work wardrobe by the time I start back to work in August.
*I will have buff, strong arms.
*I will walk a minimum of three times a week.
*I will run a minimum of 1 time a week.

I did a few things to attempt to start a fit lifestyle. I went to a yoga class a few times. I checked out library books on fitness and weight training. We did a 7K walk. And, I began walking 4 miles at least once a week, even if it was too hot out.

October 2014, 5K

The only excuse I have for not keeping up with my fitness is that work in addition to being mom was a lot of time and energy.  I’m a teacher and when I get home it’s go-go-go still.  It seems like from September to February each year I lose my routine and get overwhelmed with the work/home balance.

I hide my weight well typically, through clothing choice or angle of the camera. I can see in this photo how my face had changed.

Come January 2015, I was struggling to find things that fit comfortably to wear to work.  Everything was tight.  I forced myself to clean out my closet and package up everything that didn’t fit.  Not much was left, but it was a reality I needed to face.  I’m 5-4 and I was weighing 140lbs.  I didn’t look overweight to most people, but I felt overweight and unhealthy.  I determined that my max weight is 130lbs for my height, to feel healthy and stay away from “the funk”.

My “cousin” had been posting on Facebook about this new routine she was trying called 21 Day Fix.  I waited awhile to ask about it, until what I call “the funk” set in (a future post about this funk is in draft format).  Fitness is the best for getting you out of a funk!  I’m not one to spend a lot on myself unless it’s for shoes or an amazing item of clothing, so it took a lot for me to justify the cost of a Beachbody program.  Even now, I try to talk myself out of getting the shakes, but I can’t!

Motivation has always been a problem for me. I want the results, and I want to lose the weight and tone, but I can easily talk myself out of a workout. This time was different (using Shakeology with 21 day fix). After the first week, I felt energized. I enjoyed the challenge of BeachBody. I was feeling better every day, and even though my scale wasn’t moving quickly, I was seeing smaller clothing beginning to fit me. I was finding it easier to get ready for work in the morning!  I went from 140 to 130 in about 21 days, and within another 20 days or so I was at 120! Boom.  That felt so good.  I maintained this healthy lifestyle and routine until school started again in August 2016.

There is nothing better than feeling strong, like your best version of yourself.

As you can tell from my smile, my new fitness routine was working!

They call it (Shakeology/Beachbody fitness) a lifestyle product and not a diet product because it’s designed to improve your body, mood, energy, etc as you use it. My favorite part is that Shakeology helps me get rid of the bloat. When I stop my shakes and stop exercising, the bloat comes back easily. So that’s why I keep ordering. Shakeology is a critical part of my healthy lifestyle.  My energy and mood are improved, and my cravings for junk decrease. I actually crave grapes and other fruits.
I love the benefits of Shakeology.

L: 38 weeks 2 days Sept. 2013              R: After 1 round of 21dayfix April 2015

So, why did I get off track again??  Well, it just seems like as a teacher the school year is a real challenge to stay focused on myself.  Life becomes about my students and my own children.  I’m back to the muffin top about a year later now, but thankfully most clothes are still fitting me, they just are not very flattering.  If you have some motivation for staying on track, please let me know!  I’m getting back into my routine come April.  I just have to finish off this bag of mini eggs.  Eeeeek!

Check out more of my fitness journey on my instagram @twinmomk

Peace & Love,

K

Oh, Hey There

Hey all,

I’m still around. 🙂  I’ve been randomly popping in on some of your posts lately.  I’m working on setting up a “private”, meaning non real life friends and family, blog.  This way I don’t have to filter so much, and maybe this will help me blog more.  Stay tuned.

For now, I’m busy over here still teaching middle school and living with twin 2.5 year old dictators.  Life is a blast.

Peace & Love,

K

In Between

I find the “in between” stage of anything to be excruciating.  Waiting for something can be a difficult task.  Waiting for a score report on a big test, waiting for your baby to arrive when you are pregnant, waiting for your toddler to “get” the idea of no, stop, the idea of bedtime, that throwing food, hitting your sibling, screeching in Starbucks are all rude.

I’m having a difficult time waiting for my 22 month old toddler twins to become good citizens in their toddler world.  I find myself using my angry voice, and threatening loss of activities.  As if a 1 1/2  year old child even gets what I’m talking about, or why I am upset.  Part of my dramatic reactions to their negative behavior is that I’m with them 24/7 as caregiver right now.  I’m a teacher, and I figured why put them in daycare when I can care for them myself.  I wanted to enjoy being mommy daycare, but I’m finding it more challenging than when I had four preps while finishing my masters degree. Eek!

I get stuck on the twin thing–“Poor me, no one understands what I go through with twins”.  I can’t help it.  Two the same age are sometimes nearly impossible.  Maybe I just have poor time management and organization skills.  Here’s a look into my day (using today as the example):
6:30 wake up
A is already awake and T has changed and fed her.  I change into my workout gear and get my supplies ready.
7:00 L is awake, get him set up for breakfast, start workout
7:30 workout complete…dishes, breakfast clean up, drink some water, kids play somewhat nicely (I go in to say good job playing nice a few times, but more so to stop hitting, or stealing toys from each other).  Prep snack for A&L so I can try to shower.
8:40 attempt shower/change/hair/etc while they eat snack and watch Elmo
9:03 I realize I still haven’t eaten anything.  They are done with snack and TV.  They demand to get out of chairs. I try to put them in play room again so I can eat.  They aren’t satisfied with this. They run around and I try to make myself an egg with spinach since I’m on a fix right now (#21dayfix).  Another post to come soon about my fitness routine.  It’s been amazing!
9:20 Is the bag packed?  Check the bag for diapers, lunch items in case we are not back in time, snacks, waters, wallet, phone.  Check.
9:30 Where are your shoes??!! Try to find shoes for A&L.  Oops, better check diapers one more time.  One. Two.  Diapers done.  Now the fun of getting two toddlers into their car seats.
9:40  Finally everyone is in the car ready to go.
9:55 Starbucks drivethru-YEAY!
10:10 Arrive at Baby/Natural Mama store.  Get ADD necklace. Yes, for myself.  I need better focus.  My mind wanders and I find it hard to concentrate.
10:20 On the road again, heading to the indoor playspace-30 min drive
10:55 Finally arrive at playspace. Play for awhile and enjoy our time.  Another kid knocks over A when I’m not looking and tells his mom they collided.  Yeah, right kid.  Not cool.  L has a few tantrums when his sister even comes near what he is playing with.  I have to talk him down from getting mad at a baby about taking a spoon he wasn’t even playing with at the moment.  Thankfully, they are really good when it comes to listening when it is time to leave the playspace.
12:35ish Everyone is back in the car and ready to head home for lunch.  It’s later than I’d like to have lunch, but we got to the playspace so late, and it’s so far, I wanted them to have time to get out a lot of energy.
1:20 Finally home-lunch hour traffic. Lunch.  Maybe they’ll nap? As if. HA.  T converts L’s bed to toddler style bed since he’s now climbed out of the bed twice the day before.
No one naps.  They play, somewhat nice, minimal intervention by me.  When they start getting antsy I get us in the car and head out to search for a bed rail for L’s new setup.
3:40 Head out to Target
4:00 Target here we are.  A nasty storm is rolling in so I take the stroller in (since they are now about to pass out from not napping anyway).  The storm comes faster than I thought, or I spend too much time shopping, haha.
5:00 Head back home.  Dinner time.  Dinner.  Playtime.  Tubs. Story time.  L won’t sleep in new setup.  Up/down/up/down.  Oh, and Target didn’t have a rail small enough for a crib toddler bed.  I close him in the room to see what he does. He’s crying.  I wait it out a little.  He’s still in the Pack N Play.  It’s 9:19. I’m tired.  I’m ignoring TV time with T to write this, oh wait…
9:28 now.  L had his diaper off-that’s always a blast. HA.  Tried his bed again.  No luck.  Now he’s in the Baby Einstein chair.  Hoping he falls asleep and I can transfer him to his bed.

  Before this stage, they could be more easily persuaded to listen, to follow instructions, to just lay in bed because it was bed time.  I imagine the next stage will be them understanding our requests.  Not necessarily that they will follow them, but they’ll know what we want, what to expect, how the routine goes.  Right now though?  We are in between then and one day.  How do you handle this stage?  How do you handle this stage with twins?  How can I find balance and not get so worked up about their failure to comply?  How do I transition L easier from crib to toddler bed?

Happy May!

I have been MIA for awhile. I’m trying to get back to blogging. For now, I just wanted to say “hey”. Here are A&L-almost 20 months now!  

 

Healthy Babies, Health Issues

Warning: This post mentions POOP a lot.

A&L are 10 months now.  Their personalities shine through daily.  They are sweet as ever when happy, and exhausting when sick or upset.  We’ve had a whirlwind of a month in the health category.  It all began at their 9 month appointment.

Baby A

A’s head measured at 19 inches at the 9 month appointment.  When we got home and entered this into our Baby Connect app, I realized that was a 2 inch jump from her previous appointment at 6 months.  The nurse realized this after we left and called to have me schedule a head ultrasound.  The results from the u/s showed benign fluid on the brain.  The DR drops this information on us after telling us the results were normal.  Brain abnormalities, however benign, scare me more than anything, even snakes.  My gram passed away suddenly in 2007 from a brain aneurysm at 65.  My brother-in-law has a severe TBI from a car accident in 2012.  I know a lot about the brain, sometimes more than a few DRs out there.  The DR said benign fluid usually means hydrocephalus, but she does not feel A has this because she has good motor skills and is fairly mobile.  I’m going to pause here to tell you I don’t have full faith in our DR office.  A has had delays in her skills, for example, she still won’t roll over.  She can now sit up on her own and walks around the house in a baby walker, but other than that, she isn’t very mobile.  Remember we went to physical therapy before because we kept trying to get DRs to notice she was delayed?  Yeah, me too.  She really has made great progress over the past few months, but this hydrocephalus could explain her delay in becoming mobile.  We made a follow up appointment with a neurologist, but of course we cannot get in to see them until the 14th of August.  So, we continue to play the waiting game.  Please say a prayer for my baby that she doesn’t have anything seriously wrong that will impact her long term.  Those of you that have followed me for awhile, and those that know me in the real world know that I’ve wanted these babies for a long time.  We had to look to science to help us conceive, via IVF.

A using her ab muscles, nice!

Nothing to see here!

Baby L

At the 9 month appointment, the nurse practitioner thought she heard a murmur, so she referred us to a cardiologist.  L does in fact have a murmur, a Still’s murmur, which is common in toddlers.  His hemoglobin was lower than average at the 9 month appointment, which could be causing the murmur.  The cardiologist advised we continue to give him iron supplement, and just continue monitoring with our pedi, since the EKG showed everything with his heart to be just fine.  That was a huge relief!

Remember way back when, I thought L had colic?  A little about that can be read here.  Well, about a month ago he began not wanting to go into his crib at bedtime, and even when in our bed he would wake crying and toss and turn all night.  During the day he would be very needy.  Twin moms know, there isn’t much time for constant fussiness when you have two at the same developmental stage.  We sort of have this under control now, but just barely.  Around two weeks ago, we went to the pedi because he was so upset one night, even while sleeping in our bed, that we thought we’d need to go to the hospital.  We called the nurse and she gave us some tips because it seemed like he was constipated.  We began using Colic Calm as needed, Hyland’s Colic Tabs, powdered probiotics, increased our prune consumption, and we even had to give him a suppository laxative.  He began pooping again-yeay! But his neediness continued, along with his sleeplessness.  Well, last week he suddenly has blood in his stool. Oh great!  The next diaper was even worse, so I immediately call the pedi and bring him in to be seen.  The NP wasn’t clear about what it could be, she thought bacteria but then she didn’t think it could be blood.  Again, see my frustration with this place?  This was on Thursday.  They took his diaper to send for testing.  We get a call yesterday am-Monday!-telling us it tested positive for c dif.  I ask her what could be the cause of this bacteria spread only by POOP or typically from taking antibiotics.  She isn’t clear, again.  I do some research myself and I am assuming one of these things happened: he rubbed his hand on the toilet while in his walker and then chewed on his hand at some point, which would mean someone who used my toilet has c dif-unlikely; a kid at story time touched it’s own poop and then played with the toys, then L chewed on the toys, and bam-infected.  I honestly have no idea.  I’m annoyed by it for sure.  I’d love to hear from anyone that has had experience with a baby having c dif.  Having a twin with c dif is awesome (sarcasm), because T & I had to sanitize everything just in case and I have to be super Mrs. Clean when I change him poop diaper, etc.  Of course, right before the NP called to tell us he had this, he had had a blow out-ON THE CARPET!  Ah, that was fun to go back and clean three more times, just in case.

Look what I can do now!

So, that’s been my month.  Thankfully the Ergo has come to the rescue in the sleep department.  I rock L in it before bed and within 30 minutes he’s settled and can be put into his crib.

Babywearing for the win, again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sorry for the long absence to those of you probably worried about me! 🙂

The Bond Between Twins

Many people I meet out and about tell me that the bond between twins is something  special.  I catch glimpses of this bond in our daily activities.  As they grow they are able to interact more; this is the sweetest thing.  I could just watch them for hours.  Technically, I do have to sit and watch them for hours when they are this close, because they still don’t understand the concept of other people’s space and sharing. We’re working on that. 🙂

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